Birkholz leads Fliers to big win over Maumee

Sep. 1, 2007

Written by

THOMAS PASCH

News-Messenger correspondent

CLYDE -- Clyde head coach Marc Gibson thought it was time for his team to get back to playing Flier football.

After a tough loss at Eastwood in week one, the Clyde Fliers came back home with a bang.

Kyle Birkholz had a career night with 181 yards and four touchdowns, 172 of which came in the first half as he led the Fliers to a 35-7 win over the Maumee Panthers Friday night.

Clyde's offense put together a dominant 402 yard attack for the game to improve to 1-1.

The Fliers got off to a slow start defensively, giving up 44 yards on their first defensive sequence.

But the Flier defense tightened up and eventually forced a turnover on downs to give Birkholz and company their first possession of the game.

And they wasted no time jumping on top of the Panthers (1-1).

Four straight Birkholz carries with a pair of encroachment penalties mixed in put the Fliers in great scoring position.

Junior quarterback Alex Gillett hooked up with Nate Caudill for 24 yards and a touchdown to put their team up 7-0 with a Jerry Phillips kick. Gillett had a very accurate night passing, going 8-10 with 133 yards and a touchdown, while Caudill led the Fliers in receiving with 45 yards on two receptions.

After forcing a Panther punt for the first time in the game, the Fliers got right back down the field in a hurry.

"It was a noticeable improvement from last week," Gibson said. "And it had nothing to do with the scoreboard."

Clyde continued to expose the Panther defense, which was not having much success stopping the run, as they gained 54 yards on four straight rushing attempts that put them right outside of the red zone.

The Fliers were not able to convert on their second straight scoring opportunity, however, as Gillett was hit as he fired a pass into the end zone and Maumee's Mikkal Johnson jumped up and intercepted the pass.

Taking over at their three-yard line, the Panthers weren't able to advance the ball past their ten yard line and punted the ball back to Clyde, giving them very good field position in Maumee territory.

"Our defense stepped up in a big way," Gibson said.

The Fliers didn't waste this opportunity, however, as Birkholz continued on his tear with a 24-yard run to give the Fliers a two-touchdown lead.

"Birkholz ran with a very large amount of intensity tonight," Gibson said. "The whole team had a big increase in energy."

Birkholz added two more scores in the quarter to give the Fliers a 28-0 lead heading into the half.

"I think our problem last week was the inexperience," Gibson said. "Now that our line and everyone else knows what the varsity speed is like, we should be able to play this way from here on,"

The Fliers added another score early in the third with Birkholz's fourth touchdown of the game, a four yard run that put Clyde up 35-0.

Gibson didn't give Birkholz a chance to reach the 200-yard mark.

Instead, it was Tyler Ludrowsky who took over the running duties for the majority of the second half.

He picked up right where Birkholz left off; gaining an even 50 yards on five carries.

"Both guys were running well," Gibson said. "I was very pleased."

Clyde was not able to preserve the shutout as Maumee finally got on the board midway through the fourth quarter on a pass from Jordan Jakacki to Damon Contat.